Farmers, Coffee Peddlers, and Dereliction of Duty
by courderouge2006
Summary: Lois is finding some stability in her life in Smallville finally, but unfair expectations come back to haunt her. Season 5, Clois friendship. I do not own anything of Smallville. Hope you enjoy, R&R.


Little one shot that's been running through my head. Set in Season 5, delves into some emotions that weren't broadcast on the show except that we all know it was really there. And no Lana. I own none of Smallville or it's characters. Any news on Erica Durance or Allison Mack's availability would be appreciated though.

//

"I'm serious Lois, I think I want to go pick up that CD now. I never thought the Pussycat Dolls could be that… intriguing."

Lois glared at Clark before rearing back and slapping his chest hard. "Look Smallville, if word one ever gets out about all of that, I'm going to have to hurt you. Badly."

Although it had been a week since the adventure at the Windgate, Clark still liked to get in a few shots at Lois' expense. For once he had the upper hand. He pulled his truck up next to the barn at the farm and shut it off.

Sighing, Lois looked back over to him. "I guess I should say thanks for helping me close out tonight. I hate midterm season, all the little teenies getting jacked up on java and caffeine trying to stay awake to cram for tests that they'd be able to pass easily if they would just pay attention in their classes." She blew out a tired breath and her shoulders slumped.

Clark just smiled at her, trying not to chuckle. "Don't hold back Lois, tell me how it really makes you feel."

She glared back at the Prince of Plaid. "That's it, Elmer Fudd is gonna be my new Facebook pic by tonight Smallville."

Clark held his hands up in surrender, climbing out of the truck. "Fine… not another word." Walking up to the porch he stepped aside at the door. "After you… sailor."

Lois clenched her jaw. "Dammit Clark, I am so gonna kick your…" She stopped in mid step, and mid sentence, when she saw who was standing in the living room with Clark's parents. "Dad… General? What brings you here?"

General Lane turned towards the door along with the Kents, staring down the two newcomers. "Hello Lo. Kent."

Clark gulped and gave a quick nod. "Hello sir."

The General stared his daughter down. "We need to talk Lo."

She nodded. "Alright, we can go up to my room…"

"You mean my room," Clark said under his breath, rubbing his face nonchalantly.

"… and talk." Lois shot a glare at Clark.

"That won't be necessary. There's no reason to hide anything, unless you know of something you've done that you feel ashamed of." The general raised his brow, putting the silent challenge out there.

Lois shrugged. "No sir. What is it we need to talk about then?"

The General crossed the room towards the kitchen. "Dereliction of duty Lois. I'm not sure how, but you've managed to fall short, by far, of the expectations placed upon you."

Lois' eyes widened as she looked up to him. "What… what do you mean? What are you talking about, what expectations?"

"You were put in charge of one simple task: your sister Lucy. So why is it that in the past week I have received several messages from various agencies through Europe stating Lucy has been involved in criminal activities? How did you drop the ball so badly?" General Lane shook his head, staring his daughter down.

"Now wait a…" Clark was already moving in between them but his father's hand on his arm stopped him.

The General glanced at Clark before turning his attention back to Lois. "I understand that you have enjoyed your time here in civilian life Lo, but you're losing focus. You're coming back to the base with me, and then we are going to fix your mess."

Lois didn't say anything. She responded with a gentle nod, not looking at anyone but the General, and made her way to the stairs.

Clark looked back at his parents. "This is crazy, you're going to let him do this? He can't just take Lois, she's an adult."

Martha sighed, her eyes glistening softly. Jonathan swallowed to clear his throat. "This is a family issue son. We… we can't get in the middle of this. This is between Lois and her father."

Clark's jaw tightened as he looked over his shoulder at the General before leaning in closer to his dad. "You haven't realized that you're more of a father to her than he's ever been her whole life, have you dad?" His voice barely a harsh whisper, Clark pulled away from his dad and made his way up the stairs toward his room to talk to Lois.

The door was barely open. Looking through he could see Lois packing her bags quickly, tossing clothes haphazardly in a suitcase. "Lois?" She didn't turn away from her task, he thought it looked like she sped up her efforts. "Lois, talk to me please?"

"There's nothing to talk about Clark. He's right, I failed my assignment. Lucy went AWOL and it's because of me."

Shaking his head, Clark crossed the room. "You can't take the blame for that Lois. Lucy is her own person, she has free will to decide where her life goes. You couldn't do anything about that. You even said that she played you the last time you saw her, she lied to your face and put you in the middle of a kidnapping scheme to steal from Lex."

Lois took a shaky breath, tossing another t-shirt into her duffel. "It was my fault Clark. She wouldn't have turned out like that if I had been a better influence, I should have raised her better than that."

Clark couldn't take it anymore. Walking over to Lois he grabbed her arms, forcing her to turn and face him. "You're talking like you're her mom. You're not Lois, you are her sister. You were barely older than she was, you shouldn't have been put in the situation of having to raise your younger sister. Your father screwed up, not you. This is his mistake, not yours."

Lois' eyes wavered, and he could see them shimmer as they held back unshed tears. "It's how life is Clark. You're in charge of looking after the crops and the chickens to make sure they reach full potential, I was in charge of my sister."

"Maybe, but my dad doesn't try to imprison me on a base if one of the chickens goes rogue and tries to steal extra feed Lois, so what's your next excuse?"

Lois felt a laugh bubble up before she could hold it back. Clapping a hand over her mouth she looked away, not wanting to let Clark see he was breaking through. "It's… it's never as easy as all of that Clark. Just please, stop."

Lifting his hand to her cheek, Clark twisted to look into her eyes again. "You can't leave Lois. People around here need you too much."

Lois rolled her eyes. "Your mom can find someone else to move muffins and ladle lattes Smallville."

"I wasn't talking about her my mom."

She looked back to him. "Wha… what do you mean?"

Clark rolled his head, the words he wanted to say just at the tip of his tongue but the game he and Lois played was fighting him. "I mean… I mean that I need you too Lois."

She felt herself shiver at those words. "Smallville, there will be plenty of people willing to mock your affinity for plaid and flannel, someone will manage to live up to my precedent don't worry."

He shook his head. "No one will ever live up to Lois Lane I'm pretty sure. But I was talking about much more than that. You don't let me get away with anything. You don't let me sit up in the loft and mope and over think things and…"

"Brood?"

Clark glared at her. "I don't brood. I overanalyze maybe, but I don't brood."

Lois smiled softly, not brushing away the tear she felt trailing down her cheek. Lifting her hand she covered Clark's that was resting on her cheek and gently squeezed. "I'll… I'll miss you too Clark."She leaned in and pressed her forehead against his for a moment before she backed away, grabbing more clothes and stuffing them into the bag.

Clark stared at her, his hands flexing and tightening. He called her name again but she wouldn't move, wouldn't acknowledge that she heard him. He finally walked out of the room, leaving her to finish what she felt she must.

Heavy footsteps thumped down the stairs as he walked back down, his eyes immediately glaring up at the General. Jonathan knew whatever happened upstairs hadn't gone over too well from the looks of things. He reached out to his son but Clark held a hand up, still staring the General down.

"Something you want to say Kent?"

His lip curled slightly as Clark shook his head. "Plenty… but it's not the time or the place. I hope you can sleep tonight General. Of course you've managed to for the last 13 years so why should this be any different?" With that Clark was gone, the screen door slamming against the house as he walked out.

General Lane watched Clark walk off and shook his head, grinning wryly. "Parenting, it can be such a chore, can't it?" He glanced back up at the Kents. "Well, even in your situation I'm sure you can understand a parent's plight."

Martha reached out to stop Jonathan from standing. "I'm sorry, but… our situation?" She looked at the man in uniform inquiringly.

"Yes, as an adoptive parent. I'm sure the burden is similar but not the same, you understand."

"Now hold on just one minute there Sam. This is my house, and I will not allow my wife and myself to be spoken to like that. You think you can show up for only the second time in over a year and presume to tell us how hard it is to raise a child? You're blaming Lois for all of your youngest girl's problems, where were you when all of this started happening? How many recruits have you given more of your time to than your own flesh and blood?" Jonathan was in front of the General, staring eye to eye with him.

General Lane's nostrils flared. "I will not let a farmer try to tell me how to raise my family."

"That's right, you'd rather just let other people raise your daughters, whether it's a boarding school, or us!"

"STOP!"

Both men turned to look at the stairs, seeing Lois hefting a suitcase with her duffel over her shoulder. "Just… let's go General." She walked down the stairs and put her luggage by the door. She walked over to Martha and hugged her tightly. "Thank you for everything Mrs. Kent. Sorry to overstay my welcome."

Martha trembled at her words. "Lois, you are welcome here anytime, no matter what. You don't have to leave, you know that."

Lois fought back a sniffle. "Thank you. But I have to." Breaking away from the woman, she turned to Jonathan and rushed over, hugging him even tighter.

Jonathan wrapped his arms around the young woman he thought of as a daughter, hoping he could somehow keep her from leaving. "We're always here Lois, no matter what. And you know Clark will miss you too."

She finally lost control of her emotions, sniffling and hugging Jonathan tighter. "Thank you." She barely whispered it.

"You're welcome sweety. Be careful."

Breaking away, Lois nodded and wiped at her cheek. Walking to the door she quickly grabbed her bags and walked out of the house, not even waiting for her father.

Sam Lane looked around the kitchen. "Well thank you for your hospitality. Jonathan. Martha." He nodded to each before he walked out after his daughter.

Lois made her way quickly across the driveway toward the jeep her father drove here in. Tossing her bags in the back she moved to the passenger door before she looked back at the barn and saw Clark, facing out the window of the loft. He wasn't even looking back as they left. "Goodbye Clark."

Clark heard her soft voice and he wanted to run after her. But he knew this wasn't the right time. "Not for long Lois."

//

"Clark, do you need to talk about something son?"

Clark looked up at his dad from where he stood behind the truck. "No, why?"

Jonathan looked back along the row of fence posts they were setting out. "Well… just a hunch."

Looking back as well, Clark grunted when he saw how badly the posts were put in the ground. Some he got in right, and some he had slammed almost straight down into the earth. "Sorry. I was just… thinking about something."

Jonathan nodded. "I miss her too son."

Clark shook his head. "It's not right."

Jonathan just sighed as he sat down on the tailgate of the truck and took his gloves off. "Lois is a grown woman Clark, she can make her own decisions. It's just… she had a lot put on her at such a young age, and she has to deal with all of that."

Clark walked along the fence line, pulling the posts back up and re-situating them at the right height. "He blames Lois for his own failures. She deserves better than that. She deserves a better home than she had."

Jonathan just smiled. "Isn't this the same Lois that you have constantly complained about using all the hot water and kicking you out of your bedroom?"

Clark sighed. "Yea, but still. Come on dad. You can't tell me that if she needed it, you and mom wouldn't take her into our family no questions asked." He turned back to his father.

Jonathan took a deep breath and nodded. "We would. And I think she does need it. But she's been constantly ingrained with the idea that her father is the General, and there is no going against him. That's a 'court martial offense' as she's put it before."

Clark shook his head and slammed one more post into the ground. "Good thing she has a friend that isn't 'enlisted' then." Tossing the gloves he wore onto the truck, Clark took off in a flash out of the pasture, leaving Jonathan to shake his head and chuckle.

"Just a friend? Yea, right. Whatever you need to tell yourself son." Hopping off the tailgate Jonathan pulled his gloves back on and reached for the post hole diggers.

//

General Sam Lane sat in his office at Fort Ryan laying out the training regiment for the barracks. His intercom buzzed just before the door swung open violently, giving way to a very angry looking farmer.

"Kent, what can I do for you today?" General Lane went right back to working on his file.

"Where's Lois?"

"She's taking care of some business before we are en route to Europe to fix her mistakes."

Clark stepped in front of the desk, glaring down at the man. "You know those aren't her mistakes. She wasn't the parent, you were supposed to be."

General Lane cut his eyes up to glare at Clark. "She's a Lane. She was given an order and she failed."

"She was six years old and she just lost her mother, you should have stepped up instead of passing both your daughters off."

General Lane slammed his fist down on the desk. "ENOUGH! I will not be spoken to in that way!"

Clark fought off a grin. "What's wrong sir? Does the truth hurt?"

The General stood up behind his desk, pointing menacingly at Clark. "You dare think you can come in here and try to tell me how I should have acted with my daughter Kent?! You have no idea what it was like to lose a wife and be left with two little girls to have to deal with. I love my daughters, but I have my calling in life, I'm a soldier."

Clark crossed his arms, not backing down. "You got a new calling as soon as your first child was born. And you're right, I don't know what it was like to lose a wife. But I can tell you what it is like from Lois and Lucy's side. I lost my birth parents, and no matter how amazing my real parents are, I find myself wondering everyday how things might have been if I had been able to be with them. Lois and Lucy lost their mother, and then their father dumped them off. You can try to say whatever you want or give your reasons, but you know that it was wrong."

General Lane was fuming, his face reddening quickly. "I delegated authority. I didn't 'dump' anyone off."

"Tell me General, if I signed up tomorrow would you put me in charge of a regiment of soldiers?"

Lane scoffed. "Of course not. You have no business leading soldiers."

Clark shook his head slightly. "Then what was your reasoning for putting a six year old who was in mourning for her mother in charge of her three year old baby sister?"

Same Lane opened his mouth… but no words came out. He stared back at Clark, not moving an inch.

Clark sighed. "What I don't understand is how you can blame your own daughter for another human's choices, but you refuse to place any blame on the boarding schools that were supposed to mold her as well, or any of the personnel around the bases they grew up on. You'd rather tear your own daughter down than lay any blame on regimented, structured organizations. Lois has grown up to be an amazing, strong, passionate women despite of all the obstacles she faced growing up. Don't treat her like anything less, because if you do then you are truly the disappointment in the 'Lane Army'."

Clark scoffed. "I respect what you've done as far as your status and your military record sir, but I'm not sure I can say the same about you personally." Turning, Clark made his way to the door of the office, yanking it open and walking out.

General Sam Lane slowly sat back down behind his desk, staring at the air where the young man had just stood. Setting his jaw, the General returned to going through his paperwork. But every so often his gaze lifted back to the spot in front of his desk as he sighed.

//

Clark pulled the truck back onto the farm, backing it up into the barn to unload the supplies his dad had sent him for back in town. He unloaded the bags at normal speed, using the time to think.

After emptying the truck Clark walked up to the loft when he saw someone waiting for him. "L-Lois?"

She looked over to him from her seat in the window sill, smiling softly. "Hey Smallville."

He hurried over to her, pulling her into a tight embrace. "What are you doing here? I thought you were… I mean…"

Lois just smiled and hugged him back. "Missed you too. Even though it's only been four days."

Clark pulled away, coughing and rubbing his hand through his hair. "I mean, you know I was just asking. I thought you would be on your way to Switzerland by now."

Lois shrugged. "I would be, except the strangest thing happened yesterday. The General called me to his office and told me that I wasn't expected to take up for Lucy anymore and to carry on with what I planned to do with my life."

Clark's eyebrows rose. "Oh? Wow, that's really great Lois."

Lois nodded. "I know, right? The strangest thing, I was actually walking to his office to talk to him about the trip when I heard someone talking very sternly to the General in his office."

Clark turned away, his hands fiddling with random items on the desk. "Oh? What were they saying?"

"Smallville, do you think I'd really listen in on a conversation like that?"

Clark just smiled, not answering her outright.

Lois walked over to the desk. "It means a lot to me that you went there. And part of me wants to smack you for trying to make me your latest damsel in distress, but… the other part thinks that you were really sweet for doing it. And especially for the things you said."

Clark looked over to her. "I was just being honest. You are a special woman Lois. Eventually everyone will see it."

She gave him the patented Lane grin before she moved closer, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek just at the corner of his lips.

Clark felt his skin heat up like when his heat vision built up at first, but he didn't feel the burn behind his eyes. He stopped breathing for a moment after Lois kissed him. "What was that for?"

She smiled softly. "Just making sure you know I'll always remember the first person who saw that much in me." She gave a little wave as she walked to the stairs and out of the loft.

Clark watched her as she walked away, a grin slowly forming on his face. He turned back to his desk to straighten up the mess he'd just made when something suddenly came to him. Flopping on the sofa, Clark let out a loud sigh. "Great. I just talked myself out of a bed for who knows how long."

Lois turned back toward the loft as she passed the truck with a smile and a wink. "Play your cards right Smallville and who knows when you might get back in it."

//

A.N.: I'm sure some see this as bashing General Lane, but nothing I've seen of him in the show makes me think this wouldn't be a viable road for his character to have gone down.


End file.
